


all of your love is sunlight

by azurill



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-09-30 09:42:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20445062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/azurill/pseuds/azurill
Summary: Set after the trailer we all know & love.





	all of your love is sunlight

Her arm is terribly numb after Ellie decided in the middle of the night it was the best substitute for a pillow and there's no light coming from the window to irritate her eyes, but she struggles to keep them open anyway. Dina tries to quiet down the racing thoughts running on her mind when she thinks of the events that went down the previous night, all the dancing and the kissing and the _making out_ — _God_, especially the making out part — as she dresses up with the spare clothes she found on Ellie's drawer, one of the steps in the preparation for most dreaded patrol of her life.

Ellie's still asleep when she's done with her morning routine, one arm over her stomach and mouth slightly open as she breathes out. It's rare that she gets to see her like this, and a miracle that she hasn't woken up yet, even after Dina slipped out of bed in a less than graceful manner. She would love to spend the whole day in bed, doing nothing and talking about nothing like they've always done, except with maybe some kissing in-between. Alas, duty calls and Dina answers. That, and she's been privy to having a patrol team shouting her name on the top of their lungs until she crawled out of her home after having surpassed the set time. 

A slight shake to Ellie's shoulders and all she does is stir before wrapping an arm around a pillow. She's never liked waking up early, not at the beginning of her stay at Jackson and certainly not when they've gotten older, having a plethora of new responsibilities to take around town. Dina shakes her again, stronger this time, and Ellie takes a sharp intake of air through her nose, blinking slowly at her. "Mornin', you," she reaches for Dina's hand, brings it to her cheek and leans her face on it, closing her eyes again.

It all would be very adorable if they weren't running out of time to kill before they absolutely had to get ready. Hell, it's still adorable. "Get up and ready, sunshine."

"Five minutes?"

"Nope."

"Tough luck."

"I'll be waiting for you downstairs," Dina leans in to press a kiss on her forehead. "And you know me, I _hate_ waiting." 

_

She sits on the dining chair for all of five seconds before Joel slips down a plate of breakfast food in front of her, looking like he just jumped out of bed. It's sweet that even after years having passed by, he still wakes up before the sunrise to see Ellie out. "Heard about you and Ellie last night," Joel mumbles, going back to whatever he was doing at the stove. He continues by saying that whatever they do is their business and Dina waits and waits for a _but _to pop in. It never comes.

She chews on an apple for much, much longer than someone normally does as she thinks on what to say. She settles on the truth. 

"I would never do anything to hurt her, if that's what you're thinking."

"Better keep it that way."

She takes the thinly-veiled threat for what it is. "I will," she says, and that's the end of it. Ellie chooses that exact moment to come downstairs, wearing a dark green flannel Dina secretly loves on her. She thanks Joel when he hands her a cup of tea, sighing instantly at the sweet taste of it and Dina falls a little more in love with her then, with the things that make Ellie _Ellie_.

"Where are you going today?"

Joel asks conversationally like he didn't just talk to her in _that_ tone of voice he uses when he's being an overprotective father.

"Near the border," Ellie answers. "Jesse's leading."

If Joel has anything to comment about her dating life, he doesn't. "He tells you to do anything risky —"

"—I tell him to fuck off and do it himself. I know, Joel."

_

Between their banter and filling her stomach with as much food as she can despite the queasy feeling she gets when she eats in the morning, time seems to fly by. Soon Joel's helping Ellie put her heavy backpack over her shoulders, instructing her about safety all the while. She gives him one of these awkward one-armed hugs, says something so soft she can't pick up and they set off with only the song of the earliest birds filling the silence. It was never like that with her and Ellie, even in the asscrack of dawn.

Dina watches her instead of starting conversation, awes at how the first rays of sunlight seem to make her eyes a more vivid green than it should be humanly possible. When Ellie notices her staring, she looks at the dirt road, at the small flux of people walking to their homes after night shifts, at everything she can possibly look at and yet nothing is as interesting as Ellie — Ellie, with her pretty eyes and pretty auburn hair and the most borrowable clothes in the world.

"I told him, and I quote, 'I give you two weeks before you get back together'," Ellie says. "So this is going to be extra awkward."

She shakes her head, barely stopping herself from wincing. The early morning breeze feels cold on her bare neck and Dina lifts of the collar of the jeans jacket she wears so often it smells more of her than Ellie, the rightful owner. "Well, you were always trash at guessing."

They mutter _good mornings_ to the people passing by, and Ellie speaks up again once Dina closes the door of her home behind her, walking straight to the backpack leaning on the kitchen door. "This isn't a one-time thing?"

Dina tilts her head up at her before standing up and cupping her cheeks. "No, no," she speaks in the most comforting tone she can muster. "I don't think of you as a friend. I mean, you _are_ my best friend, but you're also the girl I," she stops herself to no avail, words start tumbling out of her mouth without preamble. "I planned everything. I wanted you to come through that door. I wanted to kiss you and I wanted you to take me to your home. And then for you to kiss me more."

She's never seen Ellie's face_ that _red. "That's," Ellie breathes. Shakes her head, a certain mirth twinkling in her eyes. It's familiar territory and it makes Dina feel safer than she ever did the whole morning. "Wow. Do people ever tell you you talk a _lot_?"

"Mostly you. But yes, they do," her eyes flick down to her lips and when she looks up, Ellie is looking at hers, too. "Is it alright if I —"

She cuts her off with a kiss, tasting very much like the absurd amount of honey she used on her pancakes. She feels her tongue teasing her bottom lip and Dina parts her mouth, heart thundering inside her chest, hands grasping for balance at the sleeves of Ellie's flannel and she doesn't want it to end, ever, but it does. Dina mourns the loss of contact, holds on to Ellie tightly as the other girl catches her breath, wide-eyed.

Dina presses a soft peck to her lips and Ellie reaches for her hand before they step out — and even when they meet up with another group and Dina gives a rather convincing excuse to their lateness, she never lets go.

**Author's Note:**

> i love them and neil will be added to a hit list if anything really, really bad happens to dina. the process of writing this was... a trainwreck but i hope you enjoy it anyway! :~)


End file.
